The whole room was suddenly plunged into an eerie silence. The gun fell to
the floor making a loud clang that echoed in everyone's ears. Both Jerry and
Wick fell to the floor.
Wick stood shakily and looked down at Jerry, who was holding his chest.
Blood was seeping through his fingers, running down his hands, and pooling
on the floor. He had been shot..at close range..
"You son of a bitch!" Jerry yelled, trying to stand. He clutched his chest
and fell back to the floor hard, causing a stream of blood to flow from his
mouth, down his chin and neck and once again to the floor. Wick and
Rodriguez rushed to him. Looking at each other, they tried to stop the
bleeding.
"We're losing him, man. There's no sense trying to save him. He's gone."
§¤§¤§¤§
Ryan and Bell were sitting on her bed kissing when the shot rang out. It
was so loud it could be heard even through the door. She jumped up, fearing
for Wick and Rodriguez. Bell was at her side, his anxious expression
matching hers.
"Do..do you think.." she began, tears welling up in her eyes.
"No..no. Don't think like that. They're fine. Jerry was probably just
firing a warning shot," he tried to assure her.
"Yeah," she said shaking her head, trying to clear all the uneasiness that
had formed there. She sat back down on the bed and began to pray. Michael
slid up beside her, put an arm around her shoulder, and prayed with her.
§¤§¤§¤§
Melissa had arrived with the police just in time to hear the shot ring out.
Terrified that Wick or Rodriguez had been shot, she hurried the police to
the door. Ken tried the knob and found it wouldn't budge. He told everyone
to step back, and he kicked in the door. He immediately saw Wick and
Rodriguez holding Jerry's chest. He also saw that Jerry had been the one
that got shot.
Melissa let out a relieved sigh and raced to Wick. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..but Jerry's dead." Ken called into his radio to get EMS backup.
"Where are Kat and Bell?" he asked Wick. He didn't really care about the
SOB Jerry, but he -did- want to get to Kat..and quickly.
"Last room on the right. It's locked..and Jerry swallowed the key," Wick
told them. "It's a metal door."
"Wonderful. Come on, men. We got some jimmying to do." The men pulled out
sticks and picks and headed to the back room.
§¤§¤§¤§
Ryan had calmed down a lot. So had Bell. They knew Wick..they knew he was
pretty much invincible.
She walked over to his bed and curled up next to him, relishing the feeling
of just being there..with the hope that rescue would come. He kissed her
softly, sensing what she was thinking..feeling..
"What's going to happen when we get out of here? I mean, to us," she asked
once they pulled back. There was a hint of apprehension in her voice, but
her face illustrated pure serenity.
"I don't know," he answered truthfully. He didn't really want to think
about the future. He knew that he had here there..he had her now..
"Just tell me everything will work out."
"I promise you that everything will work out," he said, kissing her again.
She was getting so tired..her eyes fluttered closed as she laid her head on
his chest. He wrapped his arms securely around her and drifted off..all the
while hoping he could keep that promise..
§¤§¤§¤§
Carla was well aware of everything going on. She heard the shot, and now
standing in the living room, she knew they were going to try and get Ryan
and Bell out of the room.
She walked over to Rodriguez, who was wiping blood off his hands. She took
him outside and turned on the hose and walked back in to find a towel.
Grabbing one off the shelf, she tossed it at him and he dried off. There was
blood on his shirt, too, so he slipped it off and threw it in a heap on the
ground.
Carla sighed, remembering the night they had got lost. She remembered the
sweet things he'd said..the way it felt when he'd kissed her.. He noticed
the faraway smile on her face and slid up closer, wrapping his muscular arms
around her and kissing her gently.
Somewhere, far away in the back of her mind, she was hoping that everyone
was okay, but as the kiss deepened, everything else was erased..
§¤§¤§¤§
With one last pop of the stick, the door jolted open and Ken stepped
inside. He saw the three tiny beds and there they were..
In one bed.
Ken closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Damn it. He had expected that
spending this much time alone together might have affected them somehow..but
he wasn't prepared for this.
Wick brushed past him and ran to his partners, oblivious to the fact that
they were melted together. He shook them awake and they looked surprised for
a split second before sitting up.
"Wick!" Ryan squealed happily. She rose out of bed and threw her arms
around him. "You're alright!"
"Yeah. I'm fine," he breathed. He wrapped his arms tight around her and
lifted her off the ground. He was so happy she was safe. That they -both-
were safe. He set her down and grabbed Bell in a tight hug. "Man, it is so
good to see you."
"You, too. You, too." They were quiet for a second, then heard the sounds
of approaching sirens.
"They're making you guys take an ambulance ride," Ken said. He eased up to
Ryan and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay, Kat."
"Thanks, Ken," she smiled. His heart sank as she raced back over to Bell
and jumped on him, making him fall back on the bed. She landed on top of him
and happily kissed him. He rubbed her back as he returned the kiss. She
broke it off and hopped up. She was so happy.
Paramedics from Station 27 came in and loaded them up on boards and carried
them out to the ambulance. As they passed, Ryan saw another medic pulling a
sheet over Jerry's head.
In the back of the ambulance, Bell took Ryan's hand and held it all they
way to the hospital. "It's over," he told her, his voice just above a
whisper and thick with relief.
It was true. The nightmare was finally over..
